The mussels of the Cumberland River and its tributaries

Abstract

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MUSSEL FAUNA. Consequently a primitive fauna and flora are to be looked for in this valley, one that began with the very origin of the valley itself, and has been gradually developing ever since without any serious disturbance; and in fact the best American authorities regard the Mississippi Valley as the original home of freshwater mussels upon this continent, the rest of the rivers, ponds, and streams having been populated from this source. Some authorities even say that there is evidence to show that this fauna developed first in the New World and then spread to the Old World. However that may be, it is certain that the Mississippi area has the greatest diversity of species and the most magnificent shells to be found anywhere in the world. sort of secondary center has been established at Dover, Tenn., where Mr. Walter, one of the leading merchants of the town, purchased most of the local shells and hired most of the clammers. Furthermore, the business in this part of the river was conducted in the most approved and up-to-date manner. The boats were towed to and from the mussel beds by small launches, the mussels themselves were con veyed from the boats up the steep river bank by steam power, and were finally cleaned by steam conveyed to the pans in a pipe from the engine.

Reproductive Cycle and Fish Hosts of the Rabbit's Foot Mussel, Quadrula cylindrica strigillata (Mollusca: Unionidae) in the Upper Tennessee River Drainage

“…This period coincides with the occurrence of gravid specimens in June and July in the Cumberland River (Wilson and Clark, 1914) and with 22 May to 8 July records of gravid females in Pennsylvania (Ortmann, 1919). Gravid females were collected from mid-May through early July.…”

Quantifying phenotypic gradients in freshwater snails: a case study in Lithasia (Gastropoda: Pleuroceridae)

“…Haas & Schwarz (1913) proposed as ''law'' a statement describing the ecological conditions that influence shell phenotype and produce convergent morphologies in different species exposed to similar conditions and constant local forms in the case of extreme isolation (as translated by Grier, 1920). In studies on North American freshwater mussels, authors noted that freshwater mussels in lotic environments exhibited a uniform change in shell shape and sculpture from upstream to downstream (Wilson & Clark, 1914;Utterback, 1916;Ortmann, 1920). Mussel shells taken upstream in a river tended to be less inflated and smoother while those downstream became more inflated and sculptured (anecdotally known in the United States as Ortmann's law of stream position).…”

Mussels: The forgotten fauna of regulated rivers. A case study of the Caney Fork River

“…The 1160 km long Cumberland River and its tributaries once contained one of the most diverse assemblages of freshwater mussels in the world. Wilson and Clark (1914) conducted the first major study of this fauna and reported the distributions and relative abundances of 60 species, but did not provide any quantitative estimates of mussel densities. Nonetheless, their account of finding mussels to be very abundant on the same shoals where commercial musselers harvested 90 metric tonnes of shells the preceding year indicates that dense beds of mussels were common.…”